For first time since 2010, Wisconsin gas prices drop below $3

The Shell Food Mart at the Delavan inlet was one of several stations in the area selling regular unleaded gasoline for under $3 a gallon Thursday.

DELAVAN — This week for the first time since 2010 unleaded gasoline prices have dropped below $3 per gallon at some area gas stations.

The lowest gas prices in the state are in Kenosha, Milwaukee and Wauwatosa where prices were as low as $2.89 per gallon, said Gregg Laskoski, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.

In Delavan, the Delavan Food Mart, 505 Sugar Creek Road, and Shell, 514 Highway 50, listed gas at $2.99 per gallon Thursday, well below the state average of $3.10 per gallon.

According to GasBuddy's consumer reports, two Kenosha gas stations lead the state in the cheapest gas at $2.88 per gallon, Laskoski said. The most expensive gas in the state is in Stanley where one gas station is selling gas for $3.55 per gallon.

The stage average is down 5 cents in the last week, Laskoski said. The national average is $3.24 per gallon, down 2 cents in the last week.

Fuel inventory and refinery output are at a high, contributing to the decrease in gas prices.

The price of gas could continue to drop. Laskoski said he and other analysts expect it to fall until the end of the year.

The cheapest time to fill your tank is in the winter because of the type of gasoline being sold.

“At this time of year, all consumers are getting winter-blend gasoline,” Laskoski said. “Because winter-blend is cheaper, that is one of the key reasons why, nationwide, consumers generally see the lowest prices during the fourth quarter of the year.”

The summer blend is sold May through September, and the winter blend is sold October through April. Because refineries need to shut down part of their operating systems to clean for the production of the summer blend, the price of gasoline increases during the summer. The summer blend also has more additives and takes longer to produce, Laskoski said.